Beginnings
by bookworm1118
Summary: Fianola, one of the girls Kel meets in Squire, decides to join the King's Own instead of becoming a knight. One-shot.


**A/N: This was written for Elvensmith for Goldenlake's Ficmas Exchange.**

"There's a _girl_ over there."

"She better not muck us up in the field."

"If there's any problems, the king won't be happy."

Voices surrounded Fianola from all directions. In her opinion, it was a bit unwise for them to be holding this conversation in a stable. Anyone could be listening. However, none of them in their white, blue, and silver uniforms seemed the least bit happy to see her.

She had expected that. What she was doing was not in the least _expected_ or _proper_.

Women had never been allowed to join the King's Own. Even in days where a third of all knights were women the Own had been all men. But King Jonathan had passed a new law, stating that women were allowed to join whatever military force they wished too.

Fi had thought after Lady Keladry these men would be more open minded to the fact women could be warriors. It seemed she was wrong.

"Stop it all you. Did you forget how well Kel did with us? True, she wasn't part of the Own, rather a squire, but she fought along with the rest of us. What would she do if she knew what you were saying?" a man with dark hair and blue eyes spoke up.

"She'd be ashamed," a new voice interjected. A feminine voice. "Honestly, I leave you alone for barely a year and you start thinking women can't fight? Do any of you want to fight against me?" the women with light brown hair said.

"No Lady Kel," the men from earlier commented.

"Good. Now, where's the newest member of the Own that I've heard so much about."

"Over here Lady Kel," Fi spoke up, her curly brown hair spilling out of its hair tie.

"I've met you before, haven't I," the lady said with a kind grin.

"Yes Lady Kel. Right after you weren't unseated by Lord Wyldon," the girl replied.

"If I recall correctly, you wanted to be a page then. What changed?"

"I saw the opportunity to change the world for a better place to be here in the Own rather than with the pages. I can make a difference immediately rather than after eight years of intensive training."

"I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor. Now, it's time for me to be off. I have to visit Alanna. And it seems that Raoul is about to tell you lot it's time to leave."

The Own rode out of the stable in two columns. They weren't riding particularly fast; there was no emergency they had to be at. Instead, the men and woman were headed back up to the border. The Scanran war was mostly over, but there was still a need for soldiers.

The Own was heading back to the border after a winter in Corus recruiting. There had been several men lost since Kel's escapade into Scanra, and they were short on men. Jonathan had given Raoul leave to bring the men back to Corus and recruit.

One of the people recruited had been Fi. The commanders had been a bit surprised to see her at first, but after she had demonstrated the combat skills learned in preparation for page training, they were happy to take her on.

Her parents had been a little unhappy to see her take a different path. Becoming a knight was still not a commonly acceptable profession for a noble born woman, but it was not unheard of. No woman had [i]ever[/i] joined the Own.

With a shake of her head, Fi broke away from her daydream.

'Focus on here and now,' she reminded herself. 'Let the past stay in the past.'

"Doing okay Fianola?" the sergeant that had stood up for her earlier asked.

"Yes thank you. I didn't catch your name…"

"It's Dom. I hope you enjoy being part of the Own. The men might not seem accepting, but they'll get used to the idea."

"I know, thank you. I'm a bit worried about fitting in, but I think I'll do fine."

"I'm sure you will. It's not possible to do worse than this recruit I knew once who could barely sit up in the saddle…"

The Third Company of the Own slowly made it's way up to the border, with _deliberate_ speed. Of course, they had left as soon as the mountain passes were passable. Even with a slow pace, they had reached Steadfast by the end of April, before the Scanrans started attacking.

At the fort, Fi had slightly different accommodations than the men. While most of them slept in barracks, she slept in her own room near the officers' quarters. Some of the men resented her for this, saying they had been in the Own longer, and they should have a single room.

Fi learned to deal with it and the other hardships that came with living with over a hundred men with no female companionship for weeks at a time. She participated in a fair deal of fights with the Scanrans. By the end, no one could say she didn't belong. It was a hard life, but one she didn't regret choosing.


End file.
